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Instant Full-Screen Slideshow

For an instant full-screen slideshow of a bunch of pictures, select them in the Finder, and press Command-Option-Y. (This is the same as pressing the Space bar, clicking the full-screen button in the Quick Look toolbar, and clicking the play button.)

Let’s Sing Connects People by Voice

I was a musical-theatre nerd in high school and still sing in the shower — and at my sometimes-unwilling children. The new Let’s Sing app channels my singing bug. It’s a game that requires me to sing, whistle, or hum the melody of a song I want my partner to guess. The app, which comes in ad-supported free and paid ($4.99) versions, comes from friends-of-TidBITS Lex Friedman and Marco Tabini, both of whom have contributed to our fine publication.

To play, you connect with friends through your contacts or Facebook, or by entering an email address or username. You can also request a random opponent. Pick among three songs offered from simplest (mostly kids’ tunes) to hardest (contemporary pop) associated with in-game coin values that correspond to the level of difficulty. Record a snippet of up to 30 seconds, and send to your partner. If you don’t know the song or need to jog your memory, listen to a preview or even purchase the song in iTunes.

Your buddy sees a screen that has a series of squares and spaces corresponding to the letters in the song’s title that he or she needs to fill out. If your partner guesses correctly, you both earn the same number of coins. Each round alternates between players.

If you can’t figure out the song title, you can cash in coins to show the artist’s name or fill in vowels. Passing is also allowed, although that breaks a “streak,” or the count of continuous successful turns between you and that partner. (You can buy coins, too, which is part of the game’s business model, starting at 1,000 coins for 99¢.)

TidBITS Publisher Adam Engst reacted in horror to the description of the game, having never seen the attraction of singing badly (in public or private), or listening to others do so. On the other hand, as an exhibitionist who never liked karaoke, I find Let’s Sing charming, and I love both hearing the voices of friends and sharing my own attempts to hit the high notes on “Dream On.”

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Comments about Let’s Sing Connects People by Voice(Comments are closed.)

My singing is restricted to "Happy Birthday" and the occasional Christmas carol (sometimes with made-up lyrics). I can't imagine subjecting my friends to my singing voice (or lack thereof, and no, I never, ever sing in the shower), or wanting to listen to them, in or out of the context of a game. :-)

Of course, I'm probably just musically declined - I never get earworms (music stuck in the head) either.